Top Stories

SCOTTSDALE: New research from In-Stat shows that 50 percent of tablet owners are not only watching feature-length movies on their device, but also TV shows. The data finds that tablets and smartphones are becoming vital new screens for video consumption, …

BURBANK: Chaz Bono, David Arquette and Nancy Grace are among those who have signed on for this season’s Dancing with the Stars, which returns to ABC in September. On September 19, all 12 couples will take to the dancefloor for …

TORONTO: Jay Switzer, the former president and CEO of CHUM, has been appointed to the board of directors at Shaftesbury. Switzer joins current Shaftesbury board members Christina Jennings, Shaftesbury’s chairman and CEO; Scott Garvie, the senior VP of business and …

NEW YORK: The NBCUniversal-owned cable network Cloo is set to introduce its first original true-crime series, Killer Instinct, on September 17, followed by Dateline on Cloo. Killer Instinct features retired FBI profiler Mark Safarik, who will demonstrate his ability to …

LONDON: Brand Licensing Europe has lined up Howard Roffman, the president of Lucas Licensing and the global head of licensing for the Star Wars brand, for The Big Interview as part of the 2011 Licensing Academy. Roffman has been part …

PARIS: The Montreux Comedy Market, managed by Basic Lead on behalf of the organizers of the long-running Montreux Comedy Festival, is set to take place December 1 to 5 in Montreux, Switzerland, with a focus on the TV adaptation of international …

NEW YORK: MTV2’s live coverage of the new season of Bellator Fighting Championships will be simulcast in HD on EPIX, starting September 10. This is MTV2’s second year as the cable home of Bellator. The channel is to feature the …

TORONTO: Canada’s Shaftesbury is setting up a new division, Shaftesbury U.S., with headquarters in Los Angeles, to focus on development for the U.S. market. Tom Mazza, former president of Columbia TriStar Network Television, and senior development executive Maggie Murphy will …

RIO DE JANEIRO: DIRECTV Latin America has secured the first and second seasons of the hit BBC Worldwide series Mad Dogs and Outcasts. Mad Dogs, which stars Max Beesley (Survivors, Hotel Babylon), Philip Glenister (Life on Mars, Cranford) and John …

NEW YORK: DIY Network is to broadcast six new original indoor-renovation series this fall, including I Hate My Bath, Kitchen Crashers, Brothers on Call and I Want That, as well as returning favorites. Beginning in September, I Hate My Bath, …